Notebook

In the end of March, the U.S.
Commerce Department ruled that
Canada unfairly subsidizes its softwood
lumber industry and allows its
producers to sell their lumber at
below-market prices in the U.S. — an
illegal practice known as dumping.
The United States imported about
$5.7 billion worth of softwood lumber
from Canada last year, or about a
third of its supply. Most of the
Canadian softwood is used as framing
lumber.
Déjà vu all over again. To punish
the Canadians for the unfair subsidies,
the Commerce Department
imposed a 19.3% duty on the
imported lumber, with an additional
antidumping duty averaging 9.7%
(the actual dumping duty varies by
company, from 15.8% for Weyerhaeuser
to 2.3% for West Fraser).
Neither duty applies to